1. Technical Field
The following disclosure relates to the field of package delivery and, more particularly, to a system, method, computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium, and apparatus for determining the utilization of each trailer in a plurality of trailers for the purpose of optimizing a delivery network.
2. Description of Related Art
In the shipping and delivery industry, many shipping carriers attempt to maximize the utilization of trailers and other shipping equipment in which packages are transported. Utilization often has a significant impact on a shipping operation's efficiency and the shipping costs of a carrier. Accordingly, carriers may measure, track, and monitor the utilization of their trailers in order to attempt to maximize utilization.
Past attempts to measure trailer utilization have involved various methods, including, for example, visual inspection of the packages loaded into trailers. Visual inspection is a less than optimal method for determining utilization of a trailer, as the utilization is merely a visual estimate of the amount of space occupied by packages.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to develop a technique for determining trailer utilization that addresses at least some of these and other issues and drawbacks.